Volunteers witness magic moments of baby turtles hatching (video)

Members of the youth section of the Green Every on Saturday held an annual clean up of Lara Bay as part of the campaign Seas and Coasts, Free and Clean.

This is the 22nd year in succession that the young volunteers have organised such a clean up in the area. They told CyBC they had found that there has been some progress as regards the amount of rubbish left on this important turtle nesting beach.

Volunteers were also able to witness the magical moment as newly-hatched sea turtles make their way to the sea. And in 20 to 30 years, they’ll be back at this exact location to lay their own eggs.

” Every single year we share with our volunteers a unique experience.Some moments are precious! Thank you all for being part of it! ” they said on the Facebook and shared the following video.

When those efforts began in 1978, there were just 300 turtle nests on the island’s beaches where the reptiles return to lay their eggs. The population has grown to around 1,100 nests last year, Andreas Demetropoulos, the founder and co-head of a turtle conservation program under the island-nation’s Fisheries and Marine Research Department told the Associated Press.

This increase is especially encouraging for the Green turtle, which lays its eggs in only two countries — Turkey and Cyprus. There are only about 1,500 female Green turtles that lay eggs in those two countries, as opposed to 6,000 female Loggerhead — or Careta Careta — turtles that lay eggs across the Mediterranean, it added.

According to marine biologist and conservation program co-head Myroula Hadjichristophorou, Cyprus has 200-300 Green turtles who lay eggs while the number for Loggerheads is more than double that.

Cyprus instituted its conservation program long before any other EU member and that has paid dividends, said Hadjichristoforou.

Efforts include guarding against the turtles’ main predator — foxes — and passing crucial legislation in 1989 that allowed conservationists to protect two key beaches in the island’s west and northwest, keeping curious locals and tourists at bay.

“When people come here with their families, their children, they see the babies coming out of their nests, this is something that they will never forget,” said Hadjichristophorou.